Following outrage over the lack of diversity in Jefferson’s recent incoming classes, the FCPS School Board voted on Oct. 9 to get rid of the admissions test used to decide entry into Jefferson. In response, the Coalition for TJ filed a lawsuit against FCPS superintendent Scott Braband on Nov. 4.

One of the grounding arguments the Coalition has laid out throughout the lawsuit is the fact that removing the admissions tests will reduce the chances of truly gifted students being admitted to Jefferson.

“Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is a governor school,” Dr. Harry Jackson, a member of the Coalition and one of the 17 plaintiffs filing the lawsuit, said. “[It] is for gifted children, and by that definition, students have to be identified using a test. My child is gifted, and would likely get in on her own merits, and they would have gifted African American students that’s admitted to TJ and part of that community.”

Additionally, some of the numbers the Coalition has gathered show that, overall, any students chance of being selected for Jefferson would be reduced.

“Based on our data analytics team, in particular, we do believe that there are going to be a lot more people applying because you don’t have to spend a weekend taking an exam,” Glenn Miller, a Jefferson parent and legal consultant on the lawsuit, said. “[We] think there could be even 7000 people applying for TJ, and so the chances of somebody getting in one of those spots drops well below 10%.”

The Coalition for TJ is a network of community members whose stated purpose is to “promote diversity and excellence at TJ”, and was started in early August of this year. Over the past few months, the Coalition for TJ has led the signing of petitions, taken part in public conversations with members of the Fairfax County School Board, and shared important information pertaining to the admissions process to the TJ community, all in an attempt to protest the looming changes.

“I’m part of the data analysis team, and I also work on the Diversity Committee to find solutions to maintain the current merit system and to increase diversity,” Jackson, said. “We [Coalition4TJ] work to increase the admission of both socially economically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities minorities to fix the pipeline issues at TJ.”

The Coalition has led and pushed for many ideas, with input from the Jefferson community, which they believe can lay ground for a more effective plan. They believe the decision to eliminate the admissions tests was a rushed and lazy decision that was made without the right information.

“[This decision] was done in a hasty manner. It was rushed and it was done without data. There were other solutions to identify and to reach out to minority communities. They could have gone to the black student fund, they could have gone to predominantly black schools to increase the numbers for admission,” Jackson said. “They should have identified the advanced section [of students]. They could have reached out to parents in the community or alumni, if they weren’t aware of these solutions.”

At the end of this lawsuit, the Coalition for TJ hopes to see a better, more diverse, Jefferson community. They also hope to participate in the creation of a solution that can satisfy the needs of the entire Jefferson community.